Not all yogis are flexible! #7daystretch

prAna and Fit Approach are back at it together! To help launch prAna's Fall Collection, we're having a 7 day Instagram/blog prompt challenge called #7daystretch! Join the conversation, and maybe even do some shopping with a special discount code that gives you 15% off: LiveInprAnaF15!*

Here's a not-so-secret secret: I'm NOT flexible! (Little known fact, not all yoga teachers are flexible, y'all!) Ok, maybe compared to the general population, I am, yes. But when I started yoga, I was an athlete. I hadn't danced in many many years (oh, and you can't forget about that one random bout of gymnastics when I was like 5) and had gone the common route of overtraining and under stretching. So when I dove into yoga during college, I was pretty tight! (Let's keep it at the physical level right now, because we could be analyzing the emotional and mental "tightness" I found relief for within posts upon posts!)

Being a field hockey player, runner, skier, hiker, spin-class-taker, my quads and hamstrings are tiiiiiiight! I've discovered the beauty of holding stretches, of breathing into that "hurt so good" feeling, as I've dubbed it. Not to mention the fact that years of knee problems have subsequently been attributed to dysfunctional quad formation and usage. I've dedicated the last few years to back bending and heart opening, which is directly related to quad and hip flexor stretching. Oh yes, I still feel the "hurt so good." And it's soooooo good!

The beautiful side of physical therapy for my dysfunctional quads.

I LOVE mermaid variation!

Dancer! One of my fave quad stretches!

A PT (one other than the sadist with the needle) once told me that she was shocked to hear that I was a yoga teacher because I wasn't very flexible. At the time I was rather insulted, but being a new teacher I didn't have the confidence in a  retort that I would now freely give (as I mentioned before, we're not all flexible!). But, she was right in that my hamstrings are pretty tight. Even though I can plant my hands fully on the floor when I bend over, my back ends up doing a lot of the stretching rather than my hamstrings. So now the focus, though not completely shifting away from hips and quads, is starting to expand to include my rock-hard hamstrings!

My splits. hah!

No way to avoid the hamstring in pyramid!

BONUS! It's #JUMPJOYMONDAY! Happy Monday, sweaties!

Join the conversation and show us how you stretch your quads and hamstrings! Don't forget to hashtag #sweatpink #liveinprAna #7daystretch @FitApproach @prAna !

*Offer valid until September 30th.

*Offer not valid with prAna influencers, gift certificates, and other offers. 

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by prAna, but all opinions are my own! 

#liveinprAna: Community is everything!

On this the last day of the #1MillionMinutes challenge, prAna and Fit Approach ask us the big question: What does community mean to you?

Community, to me, at it's basest form means a group of people with similar interests that come together to celebrate and participate in those interests. It's a pretty broad way to look at it, but I like that! Because then it can mean whatever you want it to mean. Whether you're on an ultimate frisbee club, a fan of a professional sports team, a skier, a blogger… All of those activities (and more x infinity!) provide communities that we're a part of.

Here are a couple of reasons why being a part of a community is so great!

1. Support Network

Whether you're having difficulty with overcoming an obstacle in your training, having a rough day, or just needing a helping hand, a likeminded community can be such a great support system! The Sweat Pink community has been such a wonderful addition to my life! I can turn to them for questions about training plans, yoga transitions, nutrition tips, or even detailed tech questions about blogging. It's great to have a resource center to turn to for...

2. Inspiration

When you're involved in an activity and do it a lot, it can be difficult to stay fresh and inspired! To keep things progressing forward and up. So when I'm feeling stale in my yoga practice, I'll turn to the yoga community, in person and on Instagram. Taking classes with a new teacher, trying out a new pose that I saw on Instagram, taking part in a virtual challenge are all great ways to get inspiration for my own practice!

3. Workout Buddies

A community gives you built-in buddies! Whether it's something more solitary like backcountry skiing or getting your booty kicked at bootcamp (or going to a book club or wine tasting or …), coming together to partake a mutually enjoyed activity is great for bonding together as community members, friends, and even your abs (hello, laughing as you're running!)! I love going out skiing, running, and hiking by myself, but it's also great to come together with friends who enjoy the same activities I do. 

4. Cheerleaders

Sometimes it's not that you need help with something, but that you need encouragement to pursue a goal, or even props for reaching a goal! A community is great for that! They've watched your trials and tribulations, the face plants and falls, the injuries and fluctuations with motivation. And they've cheered you on the whole way. Their support makes the final success after all the sweat, blood, and bruises so much sweeter! It's been amazing to watch Sweat Pink ambassadors finally meet in person who have been virtual workout buddies, support systems, and cheerleaders for one another for a long time!

5. It's fun!  

At the end of the day, being a part of a community is just plain fun! To be able to laugh over silliness, cry over sadness, and cheer over kick-ass-ness together is an amazing experience! 

What does community mean to you? Join the conversation, and tag (for the last day!) #liveinprAna, #1millionminutes, @prAna. #sweatpink and @FitApproach can be tagged forever and ever and ever!

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by prAna but all opinions are my own!

#liveinprAna: Favorite #1millionminutes moment

Ah, I can't believe #1millionminutes is almost over! It has been one heck of an amazing ride!

It's hard to try to narrow down to a favorite moment. There have been SO many of them! But if I had to, which I do, I'd say I've loved the #LJInspired portion of our challenge from Lorna Jane. Talking for so long about inspiration has left me feeling, well, inspired! 

I think it's amazing to think about all the people, places, things, times, memories, etc, that inspire us. It's been a great way to remember wonderful moments and give the inspiring people in your life a shout out! It's impossible to be gramming, tweeting, booking, writing, seeing, reading about inspiration, as I have been for the past many weeks, and not feel motivated to GSD real hard! 

What have your favorite moments from the challenge been? Join the walk down memory lane! #sweatpink #liveinprAna #1millionminutes @prAna @FitApproach

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by prAna, but all opinions are my own. 

Workout Wednesday: Stupid ankles

It was another hot one today in Portland, edging upwards towards 100 again. But my plan was successful! To hit the trails at Forest Park (the city park in Portland, which is seriously amazing) by 8 and to feel good!

I headed towards the Wildwood Trail, which has the potential to run the entirety of the park but I've only hiked the figure-8 formation that can lead up to Pittock Mansion. It's a nice 1+ mile loop amidst ferns, moss, and tall, shade-providing trees. I set out tired and sore, but quickly warmed up and realized I felt really good! It's got some regular up-and-down to it, which is my preference for trail running (as opposed to a giant uphill and then steep downhill). The trail is also reasonably wide and smooth, which enables me to find a nice pace that I can't on some other trails that are rocky and rooty.

After my pose-of-the-day yoga pictures, I was set to just enjoy the rest of my run. I was excited to see how far I could get since I was feeling good and didn't have anywhere to be for 3 hours! And then… I rolled my ankle. The same ankle I rolled pretty badly ten days ago at Crater Lake. I immediately had to stop, hobble around since I couldn't put weight on it, and ended up sitting on the side of the trail. Of course I was at the furthest point of the loop away from my car. After a few moments (which, on a positive note, gave me a few moments to Instagram some pictures), the throbbing subsided and I was able to fully put weight on it. I was going to walk to my car, but ended up feeling surprisingly good. So I set out at a light run again.

Fast forward to the end of the first loop. I was feeling good still, and decided to go for a second lap. My ankle rolled on a rock shortly into the second loop. Pause, elevate, Instagram. Off again. Roll again. Pause, elevate, Instagram. Luckily after the third or fourth time, it didn't happen again. My run stopped being about time or pace, and it became about mindfulness. It was about keeping my ankle in line, of planting my foot squarely on flat group, of avoiding hazardous parts of the trail.

I did end up running over 4 miles, including the cut off up to Pittock Mansion to get a gorgeous albeit hazy overlook of the city. Yay. But the kicker is that my body and my breath felt great! I wanted to keep going! But I was pretty nervous at this point of rolling my ankle again, even as careful as I was being. The last two times I went running I had a time constraint and then my body didn't feel very good. I had both of those things in my favor today to make for a great run, but my ankle wasn't having it.

Don't worry. I'm at home with it elevated. I even got a little foot rub today! I'm trying to remember it's not about what I want to do, or should do, or what someone else tells me to do sometimes. Sometimes it about what I need to do, and sometimes it's about what I can (or cannot) do. You can be careful and mindful, but sometimes you just need to stop. Take care of yourself for the long haul!

Pura vida!
@lizwilsonyoga

I got my Freekeh on!

It never ceases to amaze me that there are new foods out there that I'm discovering all the time! Not only foods that I just haven't had the opportunity to try, but that I have never heard of! So when Fit Approach asked if I was interested in trying Freekeh Foods, it was a no-brainer!

Ok, so what the what is Freekeh?! It's actually a process; "freekeh" means "to rub" in Arabic. It was discovered accidentally 2,000 years ago after a village's green wheat was set on fire in an attack. Freekeh resulted after rubbing the chaff off! So in short, Freekeh is a roasted green wheat!

Though Freekeh lives in the same aisle and cooks similarly to rice and quinoa, it has up to three times the fiber and protein than brown rice and less calories than quinoa and white rice! It is grown in the US, organic, and non-GMO.

I was sent a bag of the Original and Rosemary Sage flavors (they also offer Tamari). The website offers  so many enticing recipes and you can order a cookbook too! Since I'm not a great cook, I kept my dishes pretty simple.

With the Rosemary Sage Freekeh, I simply sautéed some red chard with olive oil and served it over a bed of the grains, topped with some cracked sea salt and pepper. It was light, easy, and allowed the rich flavors of the seasoning to stand out! I also loved the slight nuttiness of the Freekeh.

With the Original flavor, I added sundried tomato and basil chicken sausage and onion to the sauté pan with the chard. Topped, as always, with sea salt and pepper. This is a go-to meal for me after a busy day because it's easy, well-balanced, and super tasty. I normally serve it over jasmine or brown rice. But the Freekeh was phenomenal! Again, it added a nice crunchy, nutty texture and flavor to the dish! I'm a big fan of making batches of food to leave in the fridge and reheat over a couple of days, the more versatile the better. Freekeh will definitely be a staple of my pantry, fridge, and diet from now on!

Interested in giving it a go? Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for the chance to win a bag of Freekeh! You get to choose what flavor to try! (Only for U.S. residents.)

Now off to finish my bowl of homemade yumminess! Cheers! 

Disclosure: This post and giveaway is sponsored by Freekeh Foods, but all opinions are my own.

#liveinprAna: Veee-gorrrously Reinvigorate

So anytime I hear the word "vigorous," I think of Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Mask of Zorro. After a swords-clash-turned-passionate-kiss interaction with Zorro, she huskily with her Spanish-accented voice tells her father, "He was verrrry veee-gorrrrous." Anybody else remember that?

Ok, back on topic. To reinvigorate my fitness goals, I always switch up my routine. I try a new workout or yoga class, I go on a run with Jamie to push my pace and distance, I go on a new route on my run, I find a new hike... I do something, anything new to try to shake off any staleness! 

I haven't trained for a race in quite a while. But the Sweat Pink community is so darned inspirational, they're definitely motivating me to at least think about racing again. Maybe that'll be a new fall goal!

#liveinprAna #sweatpink #1millionminutes @prAna @FitApproach

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by prAna, but all opinions are my own.

#liveinprAna: Fitness Lifestyle Transformation!

prAna and Fit Approach ask us today how our fitness lifestyle has transformed us. For me, fitness has always been a part of my life. But it's gone through many, many stages.

I grew up being active outside. Not always willingly (what little kid always is). Our first day at a Utah ski resort when I was 6 or 7, I nearly didn't ski in favor of sledding. hah! But seriously, thank you, Mom and Dad!

Through high school and college, I played sports. I worked out on my own, but at the gym and as training for field hockey and basketball. 

I found yoga in college, and that became a huge part of my lifestyle. Not only did that change things, but I also moved to Colorado, where everything and everyone was focused on getting outside. My fitness lifestyle shifted to still doing yoga and going to the gym (and spin for the first time!), but was heavily hiking, trail running, skiing, and skinning! 

Now that I live in a city again, I'm balancing all my city loves (insane spin classes, varied yoga classes, running through downtown) with taking advantage of the proximity to trails, mountains, AND the coast! I love it all! 

How has your fitness lifestyle transformed? #liveinprAna #sweatpink #1millionminutes @prAna @FitApproach

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by prAna, but all opinions are my own.